Of Knives and Tennis Balls
by Libquedation
Summary: We all have our secrets. We all have our fears. Margaret and Hal have theirs too, and they find solace one night in each other.


**Okay! So this is just a little plot bunny that happened to bounce into my head when I was watching Falling Skies last night. Please leave me some love! (: **

**Disclaimer: Falling Skies is not mine! **

Margaret sat with her back against the corner of the wall, her knees pulled up, her favorite knife in her left hand with her sharpening stone in the right. The grinding noise that the two created echoed down the dark, empty hallway.

Empty for everyone besides Hal, who was on late night watch of this part of school. Maggie knew she didn't need to stay out here with him on watch, but she just didn't feel safe sleeping in the classroom, alone.

Brought back too many memories being alone in the dark.

"Will you stop that?" Hal asked, turning from where he was bouncing his worn tennis ball against the wall.

"I'll stop when you stop bouncing that goddamn ball." The blonde responded.

"I'm not going to stop."

"I know. So, neither will I." She said, continuing to run the stone over her knife. Hal groaned, slamming the ball harshly against the wall.

"You're nervous." Margaret said, looking at Hal. He froze and shot her a look.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are." Maggie insisted. "That's why you spend night after night out here, by yourself, bouncing that ball. It's not that stupid excuse that you're trying to keep your coordination intact. You're nervous and afraid. I know that because I sharpen my knife every night for the same reason. To calm myself down." She ended in a whisper. Hal signed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Why are you nervous?" He asked from his spot on the wall. Maggie opened her mouth to respond, but some footsteps from the hallway to her left made her close her mouth. Hal noticed and sighed again.

After a few moments, he scoot himself along the wall until he was within an arm's reach of her.

"Now will you talk?" He asked quietly, shooting her a small smile. Margaret allowed herself a small laugh before turning around, letting her curtain of hair block her face.

"Why are you nervous?" She asked, turning the question back on Hal. "I'll tell if you tell."

Hal ground his teeth together, drawing a breath in.

"I miss her. Karen. I saw her the other night. I know she's harnessed. I want to get her back."

"You love her."

Hal leaned his head against the wall. "I know I did. It's been a month. I want her back, I know I do. But…"

"But what?" Margaret asked.

"But I don't think she will be the same girl I fell in love with."

"You're afraid that she won't love you anymore, therefore you're psyching yourself out about it." she said, crassly.

Hal turned to look at her. "I'm just afraid I'm going to lose the one of the few good things that have managed to survive after this godforsaken invasion."

"You'll get her back Hal. And if you don't, it's not the end of the world. The end already came." Maggie said, giving Hal a small smirk. He shook his head, but his eyes were smiling.

After a while of silence, Hal spoke.

"Why are you nervous?"

Maggie froze; she had hoped he had forgotten to ask. Men were prone to forgetfulness after all.

"I'm nervous because everything is dark. I don't like the dark. Bad things happen in the dark." She said, staring down the hallway, her eyes not focused. Her voice was quiet, hardly able to hear, even in the hallway's silence.

"Because of what happened when you were with Pope's crew?" Hal asked quietly, unable to think of a better way to ask it. Margaret nodded, turning her head away.

"Hey, hey." Hal gently grasped her chin and made her look at him. "No one can hurt you here. I promise you're safe."

Margaret laughed, one full of mirth and doubt. "Hal, no one's ever safe. We aren't safe right now. We have a constant death threat looming over our heads because of the skitters."

"But you're safe from them." He said, looking into her eyes. "Maggie," His hand dropped to her knee, giving it a comforting squeeze. He broke off though as she flinched. Realization flooded in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He whispered after a few moments of being frozen in indecision over what to do.

He didn't remove his hand though.

"No one should have gone through as much as you have in your life. All that bad stuff at least." Hal said quietly. Margaret shook her head.

"I deserved it." She whispered, her eyes shining. "I was a rebel. I did things I regret before I got cancer. And when I did get it, I realized I got it because of what I did."

"No, no." Hal protested. With one hand on her knee, he had to let the tennis ball roll away in order to cup Maggie's face and make her look at him. "No one deserves to get cancer. No one deserves to get raped and beaten. No one deserves that. Promise me you will stop thinking that way. Please."

They looked at each other for a few minutes before she nodded, her hair brushing his bare arm.

Hal let her go, but his hand still rested on her knee soothingly as they stared down the empty hallway, the tennis ball coming to rest against an abandoned locker with a soft thump.

"I miss her." Hal spoke, filling the emptiness. "I miss hugs I think most of all. My dad hugs me, my brothers hug me…but I miss a real hug from someone outside of family."

"It sucks missing someone you care about." She said.

"Who do you miss?" Hal asked. "I didn't even think you had anyone left."

"I don't. But when I was 14 my brother died."

Hal remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"He was my best friend. He was the only one who could rein me in when I was being particularly bitchy or whatever. He was four years older than me. He went off to college, and after a party, got into a car. The driver was sober, the rest of them weren't. A drunk driver hit their car, killing three of the five passengers."

"Maggie, I-"

"I don't need your pity. I came to terms with it a long time ago. You've seen the wing tattoo on my back I assume?" She asked. Hal nodded. "That is in remembrance of him. His birth date is in the center. I got it when I was 16. That was three years ago." She whispered quietly.

They sat in silence for a while longer, Hal gently rubbing her leg. He felt her muscles gently relax under his hand, and it put a soft smile on his face.

"Do you trust me?" He whispered, his voice hardly heard.

"I do."

Hal's smile grew slightly. He squeezed her knee. Surprisingly, he felt her hand reach up and slowly squeeze his own.

They sat like that for a long time, just reveling in each other's presence and the quiet, the peace.

They didn't know how long they had been sitting there like that, but Hal's watch beeped a few times.

"My watch is up." He said, slowly taking his hand back and standing. Margaret looked at him for a few minutes, watching as he walked over and picked up his tennis ball, throwing it in the air once before slipping it into his jacket's pocket. He looked back at her and gave her a smile and a small wave, turning away and starting to walk down the hallway, back to where he bunked with Ben and Matt.

"Hal, wait." Margaret said, standing up quickly and quickly walking to catch up to him. Hal stopped and turned around, only for her to stop right in front of him. She took a deep breath, then darted forward, wrapping her arms around Hal, hugging him tightly.

Hal immediately responded, wrapping his arms around her body, burying his face into her hair.

They stood like that for a few minutes, just holding each other, drawing strength from each other.

The two fighters separated when they heard footsteps coming down the adjacent hallway.

"Walk me to my bunk?" Margaret asked with a small smile on her face. Hal returned the smile and the two walked down the hallway, together.


End file.
